excrescence

noun

1. an abnormal outgrowth, usually harmless, on an animal or vegetable body.
2. a normal outgrowth, as hair or horns.
3. any disfiguring addition.
4. abnormal growth or increase.

noun

1. a projection or protuberance, esp an outgrowth from an organ or part of the body

n.

early 15c., “action of growing out,” from Latin excrescentia (plural) “abnormal growths,” from excrescentem (nominative excrescens), present participle of excrescere “grow out, grow up,” from ex- “out” (see ex-) + crescere “to grow” (see crescent). Meaning “that which grows out abnormally (on a living thing) is from 1570s (excrescency in this sense is 1540s).

n.

1. An outgrowth from a surface that may be normal, such as a fingernail, or abnormal, such as a wart.